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Managing your finances before homeownership to save your home from a foreclosure

Are you planning to purchase a new home? If yes, you have to buck up your finances so that you don’t fall in trouble in the near future and then risk losing your home to a forced foreclosure. Managing your finances is the most important job that you have to do when you plan to take out a home mortgage loan from a bank. The mortgage loan entails your home as collateral so that when the borrower defaults to make the payments on time, the lender can foreclose the house and recuperate the money. “How much house can I afford” is the most important question a borrower should ask himself before taking the plunge. Here are some important steps that you should take in order to manage your finances once you plan to take out a home loan.

Stop all the unnecessary expenses: Whenever you contemplate buying a new house and forget paying further rent, you should stop making all the unnecessary expenses that you can do without. If you don’t read magazines, stop the monthly subscriptions to magazines. If you can cook well, stop dining out every weekend as this will save your dollars in the long run. You can even do without the cable connection at home. If you can build an emergency fund, you can easily take out a mortgage loan at an affordable rate.

Stop using your credit cards: Are you aware of the fact that the mortgage lender will check your DTI ratio or the debt-to-income ratio that is the ratio between the total monthly debt obligations with your monthly income. If you keep on purchasing things with your credit cards, you’ll drown in unsecured debt and thereby be forced to take out a home mortgage loan at an unaffordable interest rate. Therefore, stuff your wallet with cash so that you may stop buying things when you’re exhausted.

Save enough money: Yes, this is the ultimate secret that will take you to the path of a smooth mortgage loan approval. The mortgage loan underwriter will check the amount you’re paying down while taking out the loan amount. The more you pay down, the lower will be the rate offered to you. You should save enough money so that you can at least pay down 20% of the loan amount and avoid paying PMIs later on.

Keep track on your credit score: Don’t take any wrong step that can hit your credit score. Pull out a copy of your credit score time to time so that you know where you stand financially. Repair your credit as much as possible so as to grab the best mortgage loan at the most covetable cost.

When you’re dreaming of homeownership, make sure you follow the money tips mentioned above. By taking all the tips mentioned above, you can get the most appropriate loan in accordance with your affordability. Don’t forget to ask yourself “how much house can I afford” before taking out the loan.

With interest rates at record lows, any homeowner with good enough credit and enough equity to can lower his or her mortgage payment by refinancing the loan.

But that option isn’t available to millions of “underwater” homeowners — people who bought their homes at or near the top of the home-price bubble, only to see their homes’ value drop below the amount they owe after home prices collapsed.

Now, the Obama Administration has unveiled a plan that will let some homeowners refinance their mortgages — and take advantage of lower interest rates — even when they owe more than their home is worth.

Among the provisions will be a measure increasing loan amounts made above the value of the home. The program is being offered under the federal government’s two-year-old Home Affordable Refinance Plan, the Federal Housing Finance Agency announced today.

Currently, the ceiling for refinancing a loan is 125% of a home’s value — for example, a $125,000 mortgage on a home worth $100,000. That ceiling would be removed for fixed-rate mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the FHFA statement said.

Typically, you can only refinance your loan and take advantage of lower interest rates if your home is worth more than the amount you owe. After all, lenders need to have enough collateral in the home to pay off the mortgage if you stop making payments.

This has been a bind for many underwater borrowers who managed to make payments until now, but have been unable to take advantage lower rates. And being able to refinance may help many avoid foreclosure — and reduce housing’s drag on the overall economy.

According to news reports, the new plan likely will help 600,000 to 1 million borrowers refinance their mortgages. MSNBC reported, however, that is only a fraction of the estimated 11 million homeowners who are underwater.

FHFA said that details about the program should be released by Nov. 15.

But highlights include:

Eliminating fees for borrowers who refinance into shorter-term loans (for example, converting a 30-year loan into a 15-year).

Eliminating the need for a new property appraisal where there is a reliable computer-generated value estimate.

Waiving warranties that lenders make on loans sold to or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — so Fannie and Freddie won’t force them to buy back loans that go bad.

Removing the current ceiling that limits eligibility to those who owe a maximum of 25% more than their home is worth.

Two local mortgage brokers hailed the proposal as a way to help both homeowners and the overall economy.

Paul Scheper, regional manager of Greenlight Financial in Irvine, said the plan will provide a “snorkel” for underwater homeowners with good incomes and credit scores.

“Such a measure would boost the hopes of the homeowner while reducing the credit risk via lower payments of the bank,” Scheper said. “It also helps the economy because this frees up additional funds to inject back into the economy. It’s a classic Win-Win-Win.”

“There is a great chance each participating borrower is going to save hundreds of dollars per month on his or her house payments,” he said.

Lazerson said the program will encourage more lenders to participate because FHFA essentially promised lenders that Fannie and Freddie won’t have recourse if these loans go bad. That, he said, will increase price competition among lenders.

Lazerson believes the program will be “the single greatest program” to stabilize the housing market.

“Fewer homeowners will be mailing their keys back to their lenders,” Lazerson said. “Next thing you know, we’ll actually be spotting buyers at weekend open houses again.”

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About John A Silva

As your local real estate adviser in the area of San Diego County with over 28 years of experience, my goal is to provide you with relevant local housing market information, tips, and advice.

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Heal from Foreclosure

For a Compelling Guide to weaving through ALL the experiences of a hardship with applications for coping personally and with family: having to sell Your Home is unbelievably lightened! Anyone that would never consider selling their home, this is a MUST read.